Indicator for vehicles.



W. MULLER.

INDCATGH FR VEHICLES. ,wmfcmmu man fzs. 1e. me.

Pame sept. 11,1917.

ciprocation of the bar.

WILLIAM A. MILLER, 0F LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

INDICATOR FOB VEHICLES.

Sue" .Jcation of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 11, 1917.

Application tiled February 16, 1916. Serial No. 78,743.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. MILLER, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of LosAngeles, in the county of LosAngeles and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvemets in Indicators for Vehicles, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to indicators for vehicles of the type in which the intended1 course of the vehicle is made known in advance by vislial indicators. Its object is to secure simplicity, compactness and elliciency in a device of this character. This object is attained by mounting visual indicators at the oppositeends of a reciprocable bar, pro viding means for reciprocating said bar and for illuminating only the extended luditator. I employ electric lamps connecten in parallel andhaving in series with each lamp aA switch one member of which is stationary and the other of which is movable o n the re- I prefer to mount the lamps on the end of the bar, connecting one terminal of each with an intermediate conducting portion with which the bar is provided and the other terminal with the more remote of a pair of spaced electrically insulated conducting collars which 1 prefer to use as the other or movable members .of the said switches; the stationary members of said switches being in the path of the movable members one or the other lamp will be lighted up on extending thul bar to either side, the extended lamp being the one illuminated. Advantages of this construction are the fact that the stationary contacts may be compactly located adjacent the middle of the device, (it being possible indeed as shown' in the drawings to combine the two stationary contacts in a single contact piece at tached to the support at a single operation and by a single bolt); that it enables the contacts to be arranged near the rec1proeating rod and not far out from it as would be the case the lamps were to be reeiplo( cated past the stationary contacts; and that it makes possible thel use of a very short guide as will hereinafter appear. Other features of my invention are hereinafter moreI full explained and vthe invention is set forth in ne amiended'elaims which indicate its Scope.

Referring to drawings:4

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my indicator, the dotted lines showing the bar in a position to indicate that the veine-re is about to turn to the right.

Fig. 2 is a cross section on a larger scale of the bar and related parts showing also the wirin Fig. 3 1s a front elevation of a modified form, parts being broken away.

Flg. 4 a horizontal section through the peuter of the bal' in the lform shown in .Fig 5 is a vertical section on the line 5-5, Fig. 3 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, which show the preferred form of my vehicle indicator, 1 is the support which may be secured to the dash of an automobile or other vehicle and which has a guide 2, preferably a sleeve, in which is mounted for reciprocation a ybar of any desired form or shape which I prefer to construct with a conducting portion 3 intermediate its ends. At each end of the rod are visual indicators which I have shown as flags 4 carried by collars 5. I also provide lamps 6 which act as visual indicators and may also be used to illuminate the flags. A compact construction is secured by mounting these lamps at opposite ends of the rod. My construction involves switches in the circuits of said lamps normally open but autonmtically closed on endwise movement of the rod to extend one of the lamps into indicating position. One member of each of these switches is carried by the rod and I prefer tn rive it the formof a conducting collar T., hese collars are insulatedifrom the intermediate conducting portion lin any suitable way as by bands or rings 8 of insulation. At each end of the rod I also provide insulating plugs 9-10 which a'ct as supports and strengthening means. One termina] of each ofthe lamps 6 is connected by a wire 1l insulated, except at its end 12, with the intermediate conducting portion 3. A convenient way to accomplish this is to turn back thc bare end of the wire and Wedge it between the plug 9 and the intermediate portion 3, thus makingarm and lwrnmnent connection. The other end of cach lamp 6 is connected by a wire l'with the opposite or more remote collar 7, the; said wire 13 being insulated and passing' through the insulating plugs 9-10 and 11av. ing a bare end in firm electrical contact with the collar 7. The end of the wire 13 preferably extends through the collar 7 and is soldered thereto. The stationary members of said switches ma be separate but are conveniently combine as a single piece of metal having contacts 14 which iece 0f metal is shown as secured to the gulde 2 by the bolt and nut lai- 16, intermediate 1pieces of insulation 17-18 being provided. t will be n'oted that these stationary contact mem` bers are located between thefeollars filmid when the indicator is in midosition are out of contact with the said 'co lars so that the circuit of both lamps is broken. A source of electricity shows as the battery 19 has one side connected by the wire 20 to any part of the support 1 as diagram-k matically indicated in Fig. 2. The' other side of the battery is connectedby the wire 21 to the contacts 14. It will be obvious that on moving the bar endwise in either direction that `one of the collars 'l' which is moved inward will make contact with the Icorresponding contact spring 14, thus completing the circuit, o fv the opposite lamp, i. c., the lamp which has been extended into indicating position. Assuming that'the bar in Fig.

2 has been extended to the riht, "as illustrated in Fig. 1, the course o `the current would be. from battery 19 by wire 2O to guide 2 to conducting ortion 3 which is in contact with guide 2 y wire end 12 and wire 11 to right hand lamp 6, thence byv wire'l to left hand collar 7 to contact l SE1-ing 14 and by wire 21 to the other side of e battery.

Any suitable means for reciprocating the bar may be employed. A convenient one is illustrated in Fig. h in which the support 1 is shown as provided with cross bars 22-23 secured thereto as b bolts 24 which vma also serve as means or mounting rotatab e grooved pulleys. One of these pulleys 25 is mounted between the bar 22 and the top of the support 1 and another, 26, co-axial with the pulley 25 is mounted between the cross bars 22-23. The grooved pulley 27 is also mounted between said cross bars on an axis parallel to `that on which the other pulleys are mounted; an operating cord 27 having its respective ends 28 and 29 secured to the bar, is guided by said pulleys and has its -intermediate portion passingaround u. drum or pulley 3U to which is secured' a y ver'an-lflland which is mounted on any suitable part of the vehicle as on the steering post 32 by a support 33'. '.lhc cord passes from the"`cnd 2S between pulleys 2li-'27, around thc drum 30,3 thence to the pulley 25 lt will readily be understood tlla.` turning the crank 3l will therefore shil'lv4 tho lmr ondwisu.

'l'lio modification shown in Fig. 5l employs Adlll'orcnl, moans For operation but is otherwiso lhu suine 'as llu,l indicator illustrated in Figs. l und 2. lt is provided with a handle 34 soeur-ud to' a H1135 which in turn is carried but in thev form shown in the other gurss Ir have provided serrations 86 in the bar with which co-acts a spring 87 secu'ncd to the sleeve 2 in any suitable way. It will be um derstood that this is only one w'aof automatically holdin the bar releasel ly in position to whic it may be moved. p or some equivalent means might also be cipployed in the construction o 1 and 2 although not shown there, i

The indicating llaga may bo and may bear the word anger in contra color. The lamp bulbs may be of any desirey color, suitably r'ed. No effort hasbeen made to catalogue modifications which it may be understood may be made within the general lines ofe invention. f'

'endseciprocable on said support` and a plait of spaced conducting collars insulated om said intermediate portion, a lamp carried b said barat each end thereof and connected e ectrically to said intermediate portion, each lamp being also connected electlmll to the opposite collar, a source of .electricity connectedto said support, switch contsctsctmneeted to said .source of elsctrity and lo cated in the path ofsaid collar-siE and moans said. bar endwise' Y eating 'oncnd f .2..Anmdcator or vehicl miv in combi tion, s support, a har mounted for reciprocation thereon, a lamp carod by said bar at'each end thereof; a sotu'o eleo- -tricity to which one terminal of bothof said4 lamps is connected in i u. :movable switch contacts conn l :f -Vively to the other terminals of Vsaid lamps;l means for reciprocating said bar and mov g said coutacts, and stationary switch ntacts con nected with-said source of electricity and located adjacent the middle ofi-the device and between and in the path of said movable switch contacts whereby endwiseiinotion of said bar will bring one or the o her of said extends feit.

for lmoving lampto "switch contacts into con-tact with one of said stationary contacts thus completing the circuit of one of said lamps.

55;. An indicator for vehicles comprising` in combination, a support, aj Abar mounted for rcciprocation on said supportiand having un lntcrmedite conductingifportion and a pair of separated electrical contacts insulated therefrom, a lamp carriedfhy said bar at eac-h end thereof, onel terminal of each lamp being connected to the intermediate conducting poi-tion and the her to one of said contacts, a source of eletricity coni Wagga@ Qa nectpd to said support, stationary Switch mutants vonnwtm] with snif! source nf ciw- (iicity and lorutcii btwevn anrl in the patin UI' Hw minimis mi snif] bnr. :mil mmlns for r'vlilnnwltirig: said imi'.

L An indicator for vehicles cmnprifiing in conibinutiun, a support, a bnr rm'iprocubie thereon und having an intermerlinbe conducting pm'tinn, a. non-cmiducting plug in Par'li @mi therreof. rfnnrlucting colinm insu fated from sail] intm'nwdintff conducting portion, :L pair of lamps carried by said bzw mwy :i1 nnl'h vnd thereof, euch lmving 0mD lvrmiiml immcctvd in the intermediate con lm-ting portion by a Wir theV end of which 

